Different Worlds
by DayDreamerxo15
Summary: Kovu and Kiara enter a strange cave that leads to another world: The Ice age! They soon meet Diego, Manny, and Sid who agree to help them. But with Diego and Kiara spending much time together, Kovu begins to get jealous. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Authors note- So this story requires a lot of imagination, which luckily, I have. Sorry the first chapter is so short. Please read and review and let me know what you think.

Kiara's face turned pink with jealousy when she saw two lionesses draping over Kovu like he was some kind of goddess. Kovu truly felt guilty- after all, he is in love with Kiara- but the lionesses would not leave him alone.

"Wow, Kovu, your mane had really grown out" A lioness, named Misty, cooed

"It's simply dashing" The other, named Casey, added

Kiara finally couldn't take it anymore. She stormed over to them quite aggravated. I bet he could see steam coming out of her ears because she was pissed.

She approached them coolly, as if nothing were wrong. She faked a smile and cleared her throat. "If you'll excuse me, I need to talk to Kovu for a moment. Alone."

"Look. I know you're mad. But in my defense, they had me cornered."

"Hard to believe you couldn't, oh I don't know, ask them to move"

"I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to make you jealous"

"Jealous? Me? Seriously Kovu, use your head once in a while. It doesn't make me feel so hot when you're flirting with other lionesses"

He smiled her favorite smile, moving closer to her, which was his way of making her melt in his paws "Oh Kiara, You're the only lioness for me"

She sighed and was quiet for a few seconds until she couldn't help but smile "I hate it when you do that- using your hypnotizing charm on me- typical Kovu"

He chuckled as he licked her on the cheek.

* * *

The sun was shinning bright- yet another warm day in the Savanna. Kiara stretched from a rough night of sleep. She still couldn't get over what happened yesterday. As much as she hated to admit it, she was defiantly jealous.

The young queen was excited though. Kovu promised to take her hunting again and surprisingly, Simba approved.

"Come on Kovu!" She called. Kovu yawned and stretched, forcing himself to wake up

Simba chuckled "You'll never get bored with her"

"I heard that!" Kiara yelled as she began to make her way down Pride rock.

Kovu smiled. "Kiara, wait up!"

They walked a far distance until they came upon the perfect spot to continue her training. Kiara sat down while Kovu gave her more tips.

"You got to stay down low to the ground, not making a sound" he continued

You know Kiara, she got distracted as a blue bird flew around her head which made her smile.

"Kiara? Are you listening to me?" He asked

"Yeah, Yeah, I know what to do" she said, in a rather bored tone

Kovu smirked "Okay then, let's see you in action. If you can pin me down, I'll be fully convinced you know what you're doing"

"Sounds easy enough"

And with that, Kovu ran off, very far actually. A few minutes later, Kiara sniffed the air and grinned. She knew Kovu's sent like the back of her paw. When she spotted her mate, she got down real low, holding her breath. The over excited lioness forced herself to wait a moment or two before making her attack. She finally jumped on him, head first. They tumbled over each other until she pinned him down, hard.

Kiara laughed "Gotcha!"

His eyes were wide with amazement but as the shocking seconds passed, he narrowed his eyes and huffed "Beginners luck"

Kiara giggled as she got off of him. Something caught her attention and her ears perked up.

"Hey, Kovu, look at that" She said

Kovu looked in the same direction and noticed an odd looking cave. It was so bizarre. They never seen it before and they just randomly notice it now?

"Let's go check it out" Kiara said, trotting over to it

"Kiara!" Kovu called. He ran in front of her, blocking her path. "No way am I letting you in there"

Kiara narrowed her eyes, determined to get her way. She slowly paced around him and nuzzled up against his mane.

"Please Kovu?" Kiara asked softly, not at all afraid to use her puppy dog eyes

Kovu tried to hide a smile as his mate showed him great affection. He coughed, trying to focus "I hate it when you do that- using your hypnotizing charm on me- typical Kiara"

She smiled, knowing her plan had worked. She giggled once more as she entered the dark, eerie cave with Kovu right on her tail.


	2. Chapter 2

Kovu & Kiara soon reached the exit. As they stepped out into the sunlight, they found themselves in a valley covered in white. A wave of coldness washed over them as their teeth began to chatter.

"Where are we?" Kovu asked himself. Could he be dreaming?

As Kiara began to walk forward, she tripped over her own paw, tumbling down the mountain side. When she finally reached the bottom, she groaned with pain.

"Kiara!" Kovu yelled, racing down to comfort her. "Are you alright?" She rubbed her head and managed to slightly nod. Nope defiantly not a dream. It all felt to real. Kiara stood up and looked around.

"Let's ask someone for help" she suggested

"No don't-"

It was too late. An animal with claws already had her attention "Hey you!"

It growled as his lunch ran off by the sound of her voice. As the carnivore walked over to them, they both gasped. His teeth were quite long. They never seen such strange teeth. His fur color was similar to Kiara, maybe a little lighter.

Kiara tired not to stare as she greeted him with a friendly smile "Um. Where exactly are we?"

He pulled his eye brows together, studying the odd strangers.

"The Ice age" He finally answered "You know, mammoths, frozen lakes… Any of this ringing a bell?"

Kovu and Kiara looked at each other. "What's a mammoth?"

"You're kidding… right?"

After a few seconds of awkward silence, he knew they were being serious. He sighed. "Follow me. I'll show you"

Kiara followed no surprise. But Kovu hesitated at first. Could he trust this guy? I mean, he was practically a stranger and Kiara was giving him all her trust.

As they walked, Kiara tried to think of a conversation starter. The dead silence was killing her. "My name's Kiara. And that's Kovu."

"Diego" He announced his name "I'm guessing you're not from around here"

She nodded "To be honest, Kovu and I are pretty much clueless in this… Ice age"

"I see."

Kovu kept his head down. He was so confused that he even considered he was hallucinating. Just then, he bumped into something. When he looked up, an enormous creature was staring down at him "Hello there"

He fell backwards, speechless at first. As the heart sounding seconds passed, a little scream of shock escaped from his mouth.

"Amazing! It's like an elephant with hair." Kiara said, circling around him.

"An elephant?" The mammoth asked.

"There animals that look a lot like you. Minus all the… mammoth hair"

"These are my friends, Manny and Sid" Diego introduced them. "And this is Kiara and Kovu" He expected Kovu or Kiara to question why a carnivore was traveling with a smelly sloth & a juicy mammoth… but they didn't seem to mind. Diego smiled at the fact of that. Any other tiger would find it down right unnatural.

"Uh. Your friend there looks like he's about to have a heart attack." Sid the sloth noted, talking a glance at Kovu "Take it easy you… you… what exactly are you?"

Kiara frowned "You guys act like you've never seen a lion before""A what?" Manny questioned.

"What the heck is a lion?" Sid asked

"Oh…" She looked at Diego and tilted her head to the side "Then if your not a lion, Diego, what are you?"

"A tiger" He said "A saber toothed tiger…"

Kovu still had his eyes locked on Manny. So many questions flew around in his head. He was too confused to speak and too cold to move.

"Kovu? Are you alright?" Kiara called. Everyone looked at him.

He shook his head out of his daze and smiled nervously "Yeah, um, can I talk to you for a second... alone"Before she could even answer, he slightly pushed her away from the group. "We got to get out of here. This freak show is freakingme out" "But we just got here.." She glanced at the so called 'freak show'. To her, they looked completely harmless. "Obviously, they live here. Maybe they can show us around. Don't pretend that your not curious about this place."

"How can you trust them? You literally just met"

"I trusted you, didn't I?" she smirked.

Kiara had a point. He knew it was useless. She would never give in. "Fine. We'll stay for one day. Then we go home. Agreed?"

She grinned and nodded, quickly nuzzling up against his mane. She trotted back over to the others and sat down, eager to learn about this mysterious world.

"So all this white stuff… what is it?"

Manny, Diego, and Sid looked at her like she was crazy.

"Snow." Manny simply answered "You know, It comes from the sky…You've never seen it before?"

"No. Where we come from, it's always warm. We only get rain and lots of sunshine"

"Well, if you've never seen snow before, you're going to love it here!" Sid said. He walked right up to her and shook her paw, showing no fear whatsoever. "Wait. Your not leaving any time soon? Are you?"

"Where only staying for a day" Kovu interrupted. Diego jumped a little when he spoke.

"Actually, Kovu and I were wondering if we could stay with you?"

"Sure!" Sid grinned "I'll give you a full tour!"

"You think we can trust them Manny?" Diego asked

The wooly mammoth glanced at Kiara who was none stop giggling due to the 24 hour comedy show starring Sid. Kovu even chuckled a little.

Manny narrowed his eyes and smiled "I think we'll be okay."


	3. Chapter 3

That night, Sid nudged Diego with his shoulder

"What was that for?""No reason. I was just wondering when your going to make your move on Kiara."

"Sorry. I don't date lions. Besides… she's taken.""Alls fair in love and war my friend… Kovu sure is a lucky guy. You don't find a girl like that everyday. Heck, I wish I were a lion!"

"Well I'm certainly not a lion so stop bugging me.""Your close enough!" Sid argued "Just trim those teeth of yours and you'd fit right in!""Nice try Sid" Manny said "You and I both know your wasting your breath"

* * *

Kiara had trouble sleeping. She looked at Kovu who was fast asleep. How could anybody sleep on this freezing cold weather? She got up and started to wander when someone called her name. She thought it was Kovu at first, but when she turned around, it was only Diego.

"Can't sleep?" He asked

"How do you possibly sleep on snow? Way too cold for me"

He chuckled and glanced at Kovu "I see he fell asleep easily. He must be warm with all that fur around his neck"

"It's called a mane"

"Oh. Why don't you have one?"

She giggled "Only male lions have manes. I guess you could call it an attractive feature… Did you attract your mate with your teeth?"

"No, we all have teeth like this and… no, I don't have a mate"

"That's a shame. You must be lonely""Manny and Sid are the only companions I need"She looked into his eyes and could easily tell he was lying. "You say that but you don't mean it. Everyone deserves love" She winked at him and began to walk away.

"Where are you going?" he called

"Talking a walk" she simply answered

Diego ran in front of her, blocking her path "Your boyfriend over there isn't going to be so trilled when he finds out you were wandering off all alone."

"Okay then. You come with me."

"Uh… Well… Okay" He said, trying to hide a smile

As they walked deeper into the valley, Kiara face lit up. Everything was bran new to her and she simply loved it.

"I sure could just go for a juicy zebra right now" Kiara noted. Not a single zebra in sight. Diego raised a single brow "Zebra?"

"Um… another animal from where I come from. I bet you'd love them. The perfect meal for any animal with claws.""Sounds appetizing"

There was a long pause of silence until Diego spoke again "Your different, Kiara." He coughed "I mean that in a good way"

"Your different too." She grinned "In a good way. I guess you and I really do come from different worlds"

She looked up at the stars and smiled. Diego shyly sat down next to her.

"You have stars where you come from, don't you?" He asked

"Luckily, yes… My father says all the great kings of the past are up there… including my grandfather" "Kings?"

She nodded "Yes. Back home, Kovu and I are king and queen of the pride lands.""Really? That's… impressive" She chucked "Not really. Unfortunately, if your born royalty you have no choice."

"Kiara?" Someone called. Kovu approached the stargazers and sat right next to her. "Am I… interrupting?"

"Actually, yes you are… your royal highness" Diego smirked

Kovu glared at the saber. How did he know he was king?

As the silent seconds pasted, Kiara felt more and more awkward between them. She faked a yawn "Well, I'm exhausted. Goodnight Diego" She slowly began to walk away, expecting Kovu to follow her. But Kovu thought otherwise.

He gave Diego a dirty look "Listen buddy. Stay away from Kiara, got it?" Kovu snapped"Jealous much?""I am _not _jealous. Your just a bad influence on her" "She can do what she wants. And so can I. You can't control me… buddy"

Kovu opened his mouth to roar but Kiara cut him off "Kovu! Come on!"

The angry lion glared at Diego one more time and stormed off, catching up with his mate. Right away, Kiara could tell something was bothering him.

"Kovu?" She softly asked "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine" he paused "I just don't like seeing you spending so much time with that… saber"

"No need to be jealous. Diego and I are just friends"

He huffed "I am not jealous. Why does everyone keep saying that?" And with that last remark, he laid down on the snow, placing his head on his paws.

Kiara sighed and laid down next to him. "I'm sorry, Kovu… I know you hate it here"

He looked up at her, his green eyes sparkling "It could be worse. I could be stuck here without you"

She smiled as she cuddled up next to him. He was so warm and in this temperature, she would take all the warmth she could get. Kovu blushed as Kiara continually nuzzled up against his mane. As much as he hated to admit it, Kovu was defiantly jealous… and this could be a problem.


	4. Chapter 4

Kovu woke up that morning in a daze. Kiara wasn't next to him. He looked around and noticed Manny and Sid. He approached them feeling a tad awkward.

"Morning lion" Sid said, biting into a twig

"Um. Have you seen Kiara?"

"She's down by the river." Manny answered

"So, just out of curiosity, where did Diego go?" he asked

"He went hunting. He always goes hunting in the morning." Sid said

He nodded and began to walk away but he turned back and muttered "Thanks"

Meanwhile, after Diego had his breakfast, he noticed Kiara at the river. He really wasn't a fan of spying but she was hard to ignore. Then Kovu came, which made him slightly growl. He had nothing against Kovu. But he had to admit, seeing him so jealous was entertaining.

Kovu snuck up behind Kiara with a playful smile on his face. He was only inches away from her when he yelled "Good morning!" Kiara screamed and fell right into the river. She instantly crawled out and began to shiver.

"Kovu! You jerk! It's freezing!"

Kovu just smiled, trying to hold back laughing. Kiara playfully growled and began to chase him. The lions ran threw the valley laughing and giggling. They soon came upon a frozen lake. Kiara raced onto the ice with no hesitation with Kovu right on her tail. Kovu lost his balance and fell flat on his face. Kiara chuckled as she skated around and around him, showing off her unknown skills.

"How do you do that?" he asked, struggling to stand up

"Balance" She answered. As she picked up more and more speed, she lost control, disappearing in a pile of snow. A few seconds later, her head popped out and she bursted out laughing. Kovu managed to get back on hollow ground and he joined in with all the fun, tackling her to the ground and playfully biting at her ear.

"Kovu?" Kiara asked, pushing him away a little "Do you smell that?"

He got off of her as he began to smell the air. "Yeah…"

Kiara ran off with Kovu right behind her. They stopped short when seven tall creatures stood in their path. They stood on only two legs and carried some kind of sharp weapon. Yup, you guessed it. Humans. Kiara froze, her eyes wide with amazement.

"Kiara, Run" Kovu whispered. It was no use. Kiara was frozen. Unable to move.

"What are those things?" One of the humans asked

"I don't know but look at all that fur on that one. That'll sure keep us warm"

Another human aggressively poked Kiara with his sphere, making sure they were really there. Kovu noticed this and freaked out. He roared and pounced onto the human, showing no mercy. The human used his sphere as a shield, blocking Kovu's teeth from his face. As another human attempted to stab Kovu in the back, Diego came to the rescue, clawing the weapon out of his hands. Right then, Kovu snapped the sphere in half.

"Kovu!" Kiara called, as the other five men had her cornered. She growled and hissed but the humans continued to close in on her.

The human underneath Kovu managed to crawl out from under him when he was too distracted to notice. One by one, Diego violently clawed each sphere out of their hands with Kovu following his example. The human herd was now defenseless and they had no other choice but to run away in terror.

Panting, Kovu raced over to Kiara, trying to comfort her. There was a single scrape along her arm, gushing blood "Are you hurt?"

"I'll survive. Really it's not that bad" She said, as her blood stained the perfectly white snow. She tried to hide the pain by covering it up with a smile.

"Those humans can be dangerous" Diego stated the obvious

"Humans?"

He nodded "Yeah. They hunt animals like you and I. Use our fur for warmth. Crazy I know. But you guys are on their territory. You shouldn't be wandering off so far."

Kovu looked at his mate, his face a mask of worry.

"We better get moving" Diego said "Can you walk, Kiara?"

She put pressure on her arm and groaned "Um… I can manage"

"Yeah right." Kovu said sarcastically. He kneeled down to ground level, suggesting for her to climb on "Hop aboard"

* * *

They made their way back to Manny and Sid. Kiara slid off of Kovu and laid down, licking her injury. It was awfully painful and licking it was her instinct.

"What in the animal kingdom happened?" Sid asked

"Humans. That's what happened" Diego answered

"Oh. The two legged hunters. Yeah your supposed to stay away from them"

"Thanks for the tip" Kovu said sarcastically.

"Maybe we should stay for one more day" Kiara suggested "I can't climb up the mountain now can I?"

"I assure you I can carry you." Kovu said. "How can you possibly want to stay for another day? We almost got ourselves killed."

"It was a simple mistake. Just no more wondering. Stay out of the humans territory. Right, Diego?"

"I agree. Defiantly stay longer. No harm will come to you if you stay close." Diego said, flashing the lion a sly smile.

Kovu huffed. He hated acting like the bad guy in front of Kiara. He knew Diego was on her side and he was going to stand up for her wish to stay longer.

"Kiara, listen to me, Simba and Nala are probably worried sick about us." Kovu said

"Simba and Nala?" Manny asked

"My mother and father" She replied. "I guess your right… We'll leave at sun rise"

"But that means your leaving tomorrow! I was hoping for 5 or 6 days longer" Sid complained

"Sorry, Sid" Kiara said softly. She looked at Diego and frowned "We need to leave... We need to return to Pride rock"


	5. Chapter 5

Authors note- not exactly a thrilling chapter but I'm trying to drag this story out as long as possible XD. The next update will come much quicker I promise!

"I have good news and bad news." Diego reported "The bad news is a snow storm is coming. Could be violent."

"And the good news?" Manny asked

"I found a cave nearby. We should be safe there"

"Let's move out" Manny glanced at the injured lioness "Need a ride, Kiara?"

"Sure, that sounds great" She said, with no hesitation, leaping onto his back.

After about ten minutes of walking they made it to the cave just in the nick of time. It was pitch black but they had no choice. They all got settled in.

"Hey lord of the flames" Manny teased "Think you could start up a fire?"

"You bet!" Sid said, rubbing two rocks together

"That should keep him busy." Manny muttered

Just then, a spark of fire burst into heavy flames. "I told you I was lord of the flames! I hate it when you guys always doubt me."

Diego rolled his eyes and glanced at the lions who where cuddled next to each other. But as Diego studied Kovu carefully, something caught his attention.

"Kovu? If you don't mind me asking, how did you get that scar across your eye?" He asked

"It's a long story… I'd rather not talk about it." Kovu muttered

Outside, snow piled and piled on the ground. The snow fell so thick that you could barely see five feet in front of you. The wind was so powerful that it echoed through out the cave.

Kiara gently nudged him in the ribs "Go for it. Tell them."

He sighed and spoke slowly "Before Kiara and I where born, Mufasa was king. King as in ruler of the lands. His brother, Scar, purposely killed him in order to take his place as ruler. Scar wasn't my genetic father but he was… close to me. He planned to kill Simba too who was the son of Mufasa."

"Also known as my father" Kiara grinned

"If Simba and Mufasa were both dead, Scar was the rightful king. But little did he know that Simba was alive. The poor cub was tricked into thinking the death of his father was his fault. So he ran far far away. Many years later, when he finally returned, he was fully grown and ready to take his place as King. But Scar thought otherwise. They fought for the throne and in the end, Scar died. I was supposed to be King after Scar. I was hand chosen to follow in his paw prints. But any lions loyal to Scar where sent to the Outlands, including myself."

"Outlands? Pride lands?" questioned Manny

"The Outlands are a barren wasteland with little food and little water. The Pride lands, on the other hand, are full of color and life." Kiara explained

"Anyway, I was only a cub at the time. I barely had a clue what was going on. But my mother, Zira wanted revenge. She was determined to kill Simba and make me king. Of course I was loyal to my mother at the time. And from what she taught me, Simba was the bad guy. She had this awful plot:" He swallowed and took a deep breath "The closer I got to Kiara the closer I would get to Simba. And when he was alone, I was told to attack. But Kiara and I, we grew very close"

"Awwwww you fell in love" Sid cooed

Kovu smiled "Yes. We did. Then.. there was this ambush which I had no idea about but Simba thought I did. And Zira acted like I was carrying out her scheme, right in front of his eyes. My brother, Nuka, ended up dying and Simba got away... Zira blamed me for the unsuccessful ambush. She was so furious she swiped me right across the face... I was threw with her hatred so I ran. Ran back to the Pride Lands hoping for forgiveness. Not happy to see me, Simba welcomed me back by exiling me to the Outlands. Now I had no where to go. My only hope was Kiara. She had ran away looking for me and luckily I found her. To make a long story short, we managed to get threw to the others. We made them realize we are all equal. Except for my mother. She tried to attack Simba going solo. With no backup whatsoever. But Kiara pounced onto her, tumbling down the cliff side. Kiara was safe thank god. But Zira. She fell into the river... and died.

Kiara sighed in relief "Now, we all live together in peace. No more separation. We are one."

Everyone was speechless until Sid broke the silence "Wow... You lions have been through a lot together. No wonder why you guys are crazy about each other."

Kovu flashed his mate a dazzling smile. "So… if you don't mind me asking, why are you guys traveling together? Your an odd trio."

"Figures. I knew you where going to bring that up" Diego muttered

"They pretty much just told us their life story. We got to tell him ours in return." Sid argued "We got nothing else better to do"

Diego sighed "Very well then… The human heard killed half of my pack. Soto, my leader, wanted me to receive this human baby. Like Zira, all he wanted was revenge. Once I brought him the baby, he wanted to personally kill it himself."

"And then his whole life went down the drain when he met us" Sid teased.

"Exactly. I found Manny and Sid with the infant who were determined to bring it back to the human heard. But they where too late. They had already left. So I played along for a while, pretending I was on their side. I agreed to help them travel to half peek, which was where the human heard was heading."

"Yeah. But our so called buddy over here had this ambush set up. An ambush to kill us" Sid explained

"Manny saved my life along the way which made me realize I was making a big mistake. I turned my back on my pack to save them. Soto was furious. He tried to kill me. Once I was out of the way, he and the others had Manny cornered. Just when he was about to attack, I jumped in the way... which resulted in pain. But it was worth it. When your in a heard, you need to look out for each other."

"Is Soto still alive?" Kiara asked

"No. He died at half peak." Diego answered

"And the baby?"

"We managed to get it back home safe and sound" Manny replied

Kovu blinked a few times "Interesting."

"You three have been through a lot together. I can tell your good friends now."

There was a moment of silence until Diego spoke again "Now that we know each others life stories, can we go to sleep now?"

"Wait a minute. If you think about it, you and Kovu are more alike than you think. You both turned your back on your kind. You guys have a lot of guts and a lot in common" Kiara pointed out

"We are not alike!" They both snapped at the exact same time.

Kiara chuckled "I rest my case."

Diego huffed, not buying any of it. "What ever floats your boat."


	6. Chapter 6

Authors note- Ekk. Short chapter. And yet, I really enjoyed writing it. Please review!!!

Kiara slowly opened her eyes and yawned. She slept quite well after all the thrill from yesterday. Her paw practically healed over night which was a good sign. At least she could walk on her own. Kovu was eager to go home so they got moving right away. As they struggled through the snow and debris from the storm, they finally reached the mountain.

"Well… I guess this is goodbye" Sid sniffed, trying to hold back the tears

"Yeah… Humans are obviously too much for Kovu to handle" Diego muttered.

"I'd shut your mouth if I were you" Kovu snapped

They growled, angrily moving closer to each other. Kiara came between them and sighed. "Okay… I think it's time to get going."

"Yup. Adios!" Kovu grinned as he began to walk up the mountain.

Kiara rolled her eyes and glanced at the others. She only knew them for a day and yet she felt like she knew them her whole life. To her, this new world was an amazing discovery and part of her didn't want to leave.

"Thanks for all your help. You guys are great."

"Hey! I have an idea! We should go with them, Manny!" Sid suggested "It'll be like our own little vacation and-"

Manny cut him off "As much as I'd love to go, it's not the place for us. I think we would be bit of an outcast"

Kiara shrugged "If you change your mind, your always welcome to come visit"

The woolly mammoth patted Kiara on the head which was his friendly way of saying goodbye. Sid hugged her, practically squeezing the life out of her. Diego, on the other hand, just kept his head down, staring at the snow.

Sid leaned against his shoulder "Ah don't mind him. He's just upset that your leaving... Underneath all that pride is a real sensitive saber, you know."

Diego bonked him on the head and Sid fell to the ground. Kiara giggled "You might want to reconsider not having a loyal mate. Unless your willing to spend the rest of your life with Sid. Your choice."

Diego looked at her with a puzzled expression. She quickly gave him a lick on the cheek and luckily, Kovu didn't notice.

"Goodbye. Thanks again" She flashed the group one more dazzling smile and raced up the mountain to catch up with her mate.

As Kovu thought more and more about their experience here, he came to a complete stop. Feeling guilty, he quickly dashed down the mountain until he was face to face with Diego. Forcing a smile, he said "Look. I know we haven't got along very well but I owe you my life. I would been killed if you didn't show up. And Kiara- Well, it could have been much worse. Those monsters would of easily killed her. So... thanks."

"No problem" Diego said "Take good care of Kiara. With her curious, stubborn personality, you got to keep a close eye on her"

He chuckled "You have no idea"

* * *

As the sleepy, hungry, lions walked out into the sunlight, they took a breath of fresh air. Home sweet home.

"Good morning, sire. Ready for the morning report?" Zazu asked, landing on a nearby tree branch.

"Morning report? Zazu, we've been gone for more than a day" Kovu said

"Didn't anyone realize we were gone?" Kiara asked

"No… you were only out hunting for 15 minutes. Which reminds me, how did the training go, Queen Kiara?"

She narrowed her eyes "Fine I guess"

"Wonderful. Anyway, your father wants to see you right away, Kiara. No arguments"

"Wait!" She looked over her shoulder and scanned the Savanna for the cave… yet it was no where in sight. Her jaw dropped. Impossible. How could it just vanish?

"Enough games, Kiara. Go to Pride rock this instant." Zazu demanded. And with that last remark, he flew off.

She sighed and muttered "Even when I'm Queen I still get ordered around."


	7. Chapter 7

Authors note- Unfortunately, this is the last chapter. Sorry if I disappointed anyone. I really didn't plan on making this a 24 chapter story like my previous fanatic. More Ice Age and Lion King stories are on the way so don't worry!

That night, Kovu found Kiara gazing at the stars all by herself. He smiled and laid down next to her.

"I look back and the cave was gone... It just vanished." Kiara muttered in a daze.

"I know." Kovu paused "Then again, this whole day seemed to be a brain teaser so I sorta expected something like that to happen. But there is an up side to this. Now I don't have to worry about you sneaking off into winter wonder land"

She chuckled a little "I tried telling my father about the Ice age…"

"And?"

She sighed "He looked at me like I was crazy. He told me to 'grow up' and to 'stop fooling around'. No body ever takes me seriously in this kingdom"

"I take you seriously."

"I know you do. He would of believed me if I had proof. I should of persuaded Diego to come with us. He would have been perfect proof"

"How could you possibly want him here? He really ticks me off and you know it."

"Kovu, he saved your life. And mine."

"I still don't like him" He pouted

She smirked "I know why he ticks you off. You get extremely jealous when you see us together."

"Jealous of what?"

"That night when Diego and I where stargazing... Your face was pink with jealousy."

"Yeah okay" He said sarcastically

"Well that's good. If your not jealous, than I guess you won't mind that I gave him a farewell lick on the cheek."

"Wait. What!?"

She playfully giggled and ran off towards pride rock.

"Kiara? Kiara! KIARA!"

Maybe if she ran quick enough Kovu would never catch up to her and forget about that last remark- THUD! Kovu aggressively yet gently pinned her to the ground.

"You LICKED him?!" He demanded an answer

She giggled "Yup. And wanna know a secret?" She moved in closer to his ear "I still love you. Only you."

Kovu grinned and nuzzled up against her. The hypnotized love birds purred into the night. The stars sparkled. The wind slightly blew. A perfect romance scene. But back in the Ice age, there was one lonely tiger wandering through the darkness, wondering what to do with himself.

The bushes raddled and Diego looked alert. Maybe a late night snack will get his mind off the lions. As he pounced onto his pray, he realized it was a carnivore. Not just a carnivore, a saber toothed tiger!

"Diego?" A female voice asked "Is that you?"

"Do I… know you?"

"Typical Diego. Can't even remember his own best friend." She teased

"Nikki?!" Diego instantly got off and studied his old best friend. He could tell she got much stronger. And her fur got darker. Yet, her crystal blue eyes where still exactly the same.

"I haven't seen you since we where cubs! Wow, you look amazing." Nikki blushed which made Diego blush. He coughed to clear his throat "Um. You look different is all"

They began to talk and laugh and talk some more. As the two sabers got deeper and deeper into conversation, Diego realized something. Kiara was absolutely right. Everyone deserves love.


End file.
